By Keeshaanan Sundaresan

The 23 year-old's goal accompanied his exemplary performance in ensuring that both sides went home with one point apiece

Vietnam were held to a surprise draw by Myanmar in the opening match of the 2012 AFF Suzuki Cup in Bangkok, Thailand.

The Golden Stars began the match with fire in their belly as they dominated proceedings early on.

Vietnam continued to assert themselves by controlling possession in the middle of the park. Kyi Lin was perhaps the only Myanmar player that looked like causing any sort of troubles for the Vietnamese defence, and he provided a deft cross into the path Yan Paing, but the latter failed to make any connection in the 17th minute.

By the half hour mark, it was more of an even game with both sides attacking back on forth. A delightful cross from Thanh Luong on the right flank found Tan Tai in the penalty box and the 28 year-old made no mistakes by slotting home for the opener. It was pretty much a routine goal for Vietnam as the White Angels made a mess defensively.

From then on, Vietnam were keen on breathing it through to half time with their short and tidy passing moves, but Kyi Lin was having none of it. The pacy flanker pushed forward on several occasions though there was a visible lack of support from his crestfallen teammates.

The second half began with not much difference to the tempo as Vietnam continued passing the ball around the soggy pitch. In the 50th minute, Trong Hoang did terrifically down the right wing before flicking in a delightful cross that found Van Hoan. However, the 23 year-old's shot swerved wide of the post.

Just 60 seconds later, Myanmar finally got their breakthrough as Minh Duc brought down the rampaging Kyi Lin clumsily inside the box and the referee pointed to the spot. Kyi Lin stepped up confidently and restored parity in style as the loud Myanmar fans went into frenzy.

Kyi Lin was presented with a golden chance as a Vietnamese defensive mix-up placed him on a one-on-one position with the goalkeeper, but his shot was deflected off the line expertly by Thiha Si Thu. Myanmar could have possibly even taken the lead on the 73rd minute but Kyi Lin's solo run down the middle of the park was hacked off the line successfully, much to the annoyance of Kaung Si Thu, who was unmarked on the right.

The tempo predictably slowed down as the game progressed. The Golden Stars launched several last ditch attempts to seize victory but solid defending from Myanmar ensured that both sides shared spoils at the end of the match.